Genre Presentations

I really enjoyed all of the genre presentations that we have seen in class. This week my favorite was the Giving Tree. I am a little partial to this one because it is one of my favorite stories. I can read the story over and over and over and cry ever time (I know silly). Wendy did a great job narrating the the video from youtube. I was curious and visited the website to listen to the 1973 version of the story with the Author Shel Silverstein. I really liked the crowns you all made and am going to use this idea in my classroom when I introduce this Author.
I think everyone did an awesome job on the presentations.

Genre Presentations- Happy Thanksgiving

This tuesday we saw two genre presentations. I really liked the story Down the Back of the Chair. I thought this was a super good story and I liked the project you had for the class. Having the class decorate the chairs and what might be found down the back of the chair is a good idea. I think children would love doing this and I am curious as to what children might come up with.
Good job on the presentations. Everyone has good ideas and I can't wait to see next weeks presentations.


Before I end this blogs I want to say Happy Thanksgiving to all my classmates and to Ms. Pickett. Enjoy the days off!

Genre Presentation Tikki Tikki Tembo and Martina the Beautiful Cockroach- Author Carmen Agra Deedy

On the 19th of November my group presented our genre project. We chose to do multi-cultural literature as our genre. At first I really wanted to do our presentation on Martina the beautiful cockroach however, I was persuaded to do Tikki Tikki Tembo a Chinese folktale. For our presentation we retold the story of Tikki Tikki Tembo using an awesome background and pictured stick puppets. For our background music we googled free Chinese music and found the perfect song. Our group met on several occasions and did a lot of planning on who would do what. The day that we videoed we took hours to do one complete run-through of the story without laughing. After we had a complete video I got to use Movie Maker to make the movie. For added fun we added bloopers and out-takes. Overall we had an awesome time completing this project. I feel like the outcome of our presentation was great.

After we presented Tikki Tikki Tembo I played the unabridged version on Martina the beautiful cockroack. Visit the link below to learn more about this character and the author Carmen Agra Deedy.

http://www.beautifulmartina.com/

Carmen Agra Deedy-

She was born in Havana, Cuba. Deedy has been a writer for over 20years. Her books include Agatha's Feather Bed, The Library Dragon, The Yellow Star, and of course Martina the Beautiful Cockroach. She created the character Martina because of her love for Cuban folklore. She has received numerous awards and honors.

Mid-Childhood - Early Adolescent Literature

Here are some of my favorite books geared to older kids.


The English Roses
Book Summary:
The English Roses (Madonna, 2003) is a wonderful story about the English roses a group of girl named Nicole, Amy, Charlotte, and Grace. They are four friends that do everything together. Together they have picnics, dance parties, play sports, and most importantly dislike a girl named Binah. The four girls are jealous of her because she is beautiful, smart, and well liked by everyone. However despite knowing that Binah was sad and lonely they could not get themselves to invite her over because they could not get past the jealousy. One day while at Nicole’s for a sleep over Nicole’s mother asks why they never invite Binah and ask the girls to think about how unfair they are being. The girls feel guilty and fall asleep thinking about what Nicole’s mother has said. When they fall asleep they all have the same dream and see that Binah lives alone with her father and has to do all the chores and cook dinner alone. The girls learned that Binah’s mother had die many years ago and that she did not have everything the way the girls thought. When the four friends woke up they talked and decided that they needed to become friends with Binah. The girls slowly began to invite Binah to be with them and slowly all became inseparable. .
Critique:
This book can be used to foster friendships among students. The story shows that you should not make unfair judgments about people you do not know. Although the girls thought they knew about Binah’s life they were unaware of the hardships she was faced with. I loved the illustrations in this book and the fact that the background of the pages were in London. The illustrations are very colorful and the pages are completely covered.



The Bracelet
Book Summary:
The Bracelet (Uchida, 1976) is a story about a Japanese-American girl who is forced to leave her home along with her family during World War 2. Emi and her family had to move to an internment camps as a result of the war between the United States and Japan. Emi and her family are very sad to have to leave there house, their neighbors, and their friends. Right before her family was going to leave Emi gets a visit from her best friend Laurie. Laurie gives Emi a bracelet so Emi would remember her. Emi promises to always wear the bracelet to never forget her best friend. As the family departs to the internment camp Emi uses the bracelet to find strength and to conquer her fears. When they finally settle in to their room Emi realizes that she no longer has the bracelet on. Emi is heartbroken and begins to think of her friend. Emi realizes that she does not need the bracelet to remember her best friend but instead has the memories within forever.
Critique:
I feel this is a great book to teach how friendships can give you strength during hard times. This book would also be good to use when teaching about the war and injustices. The book has great illustrations and the content of the story shows what it must have been like for thousands of Japanese-American. I feel that this is a subject often hidden from our history. One thing I didn’t like about the story is that the readers do not get to hear what happen to the character Emi.

The Hundred Dresses
Book Summary:
The Hundred Dresses (Estes, 1973) is a wonderful story of two girls who feel guilt for teasing a girl. Peggy and Maddie along with many other girls tease a poor polish girl named Wanda. Peggy who is somewhat of the ring leader questions Wanda asking her “How many dresses do you have?” Wanda always answers with the same response “I Have one hundred dresses?” Although Maddie knows the teasing is not nice she stands by allowing the teasing to continue. One day the girls arrive at school eager to find out who has won a classroom drawing contest. When they arrive they enter the classroom filled with one hundred drawings of beautiful dresses drawn by Wanda. The teacher announces that Wanda has won the contest immediately following this announcement the teacher reads a letter to the class written by Wanda’s father. The letter states that Wanda will not return to school because they are moving. Maddie and Peggy both feel awful after learning the girl who had to endure the teasing has moved away. The girls feel remorseful and are very saddened to find out they will never be able to apologize. Critique:
This book is a great book to use to teach that peoples’ lives are not always as they see. This book briefly touches on prejudice of people who are different. I really liked the chalk drawings from this book but feel that other illustrations could have enhanced the setting for the book. The feelings of the characters are displayed through the writing in a great way. I could completely understand the way Maddie was feeling.

Charlotte's Web
Book Summary:
Charlotte’s Web (White, 1952) is about a little girl named Fern who discovers her father is going to kill a runt pig. She begs her father to let her keep the pig and raise him. Fern names the pig Wilber and spends all her time with her new friend. Once Wilber is too large to live in the house he is sent to her Uncles farm. Wilber is sad at the farm and wants a friend desperately. During one long night he is greeted by a tiny voice that says she will be his friend. The following morning Wilber is introduced to a friendly spider names Charlotte. It becomes apparent to Fern, Wilber, Charlotte and the other animals that Mr. Zuckerman plans to slaughter Wilber during the winter. Charlotte assures Wilber that she will do everything she can to make sure Wilber stays safe. Charlotte spins amazing words to show the farmer that Wilber is some pig. Charlotte works very hard on a series of words to ensure Wilber he will not be killed. One day while at the fair Charlotte tells Wilber that she will soon die and that he must take her egg sack back to the farm. Charlotte works all night despite her weakness to complete one last word. This final act of kindness from Charlotte finally ensures Wilber will not be killed.
Critique:
This book can be used to show the risk friends will take to help those who are special to them. It displays more than one friendship. The character interaction shows special relationships. Although this is a sad story it also heartfelt the way it shows the special relationships. This story describes the animal interaction and the farm and deals with everyday life in the country. The great illustrations help the reader to visualize the setting.


Because of Winn-Dixie
Book Summary:
Because of Winn-Dixie (Camillo, 2000) is a book about 10 year old India Opal Buloni who moves to Florida with her father. Opal has already had sadness in her life because her mother left her and her father. Opals father a preacher is always preoccupied and often leaves Opal alone. Opal finds herself living in a new town alone and without any friends. While at the grocery store she comes across a dog who has wondered into the local Winn-Dixie grocery store. To save the curious dog from being sent to the pound Opal decides to keep the dog that she names Winn- Dixie for obvious reasons. Winn- Dixie and Opal quickly become inseparable and find many adventures around town. With the help of her dog Opal begins to become friends with people in the town who are curious about her dog. Opal become friend with Otis from the pet store, Miss Franny Block the local librarian, an old woman who everyone is scared of Gloria Dump, The Dewberry brothers, and a shy girl named Amanda. By the end of this heartfelt story Opal unites all her friends together to celebrate their friendship. During this celebration a storm causes them indoors. When they are all inside away from the storm they realize that Winn- Dixie is not around. This event brings Opal and her distant father together. After a heart to heart between father and daughter the two return to their friends only to find Winn- Dixie there.
Critique:
This is a good book to help students realize how easy it is to find friends and build relationships when you explore. This book is also a good book to show not to judge from the outside but instead give people a chance. I like the details of the story and how the dog brings everyone together. Because of Winn-Dixie (Camillo, 2000) has been given many honors and awards including 2001 Newberry Honors. This book was later adapted into a motion picture.

Shared Reading

After reading this article I have made connections with what I have been learning her at Texas A&M since last year. One of the most important thing is to make the environment safe and comfortable for student reading. Another important factor is to allow students to choose what they read and to have a variety of interesting material available. Students who are given a choose become excited and motivated to read. Variety of books need to be available also for reinforcement of content that is being explored in the classroom.

Wax Museum- With non-fiction picture books

During class my group and I used Picture books by David Adler to create a wax museum or meeting of the minds. We used a picture book of Sojourner Truth, Sacagawea, Harriet Tubman, and Helen Keller. Prior to this class we all read our books and created timelines of the life of each historic woman. We took turns presenting our person as if we were the person. After each of us shared our story we discussed new thinks we found out about this person. I would love to use this in my classroom one day. Scholastic has a series of these picture books and I could introduce students to these historical figures then allow them to expand on what they know. I think students would be engaged by getting to know each important person.

Chapter 8- Elements of Fiction and Authors

This was one of my favorite chapters so far. I loved the books that were presented throughout the chapter. This chapter discusses the types of fiction which include contemporary realistic fiction, historical fiction, fantasy, and science fiction. We did a good project about what fiction means to us. One thing I found interesting was that everyone had a different idea about what fiction is or what thought they think of when they think of fiction. Page 187 discourse of fiction is a good page to know. Overall I really loved learning about this topic.

Doreen Cronin- Diary of a worm
She was born in Queens and grew up in Long Island. Doreen Cronin was a practicing attorney before her first book was published. Prior to attending law school she had drafted the barn yard tale that would one day be her first book. She tried for several years to get her books published only to be rejected numerous times. Once she gotr accepted and have her book published she quit her career in law and decided to become a full time author. She now lives in New York. Her newest series of books includes Diary of a worm, Diary of a spider, and Diary of a fly. Doreen Cronin has a website but it is under construction.



Tedd Arnold- Super Fly Guy
Born in Elmira, New York and grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania. He received a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Florida. His wife brought on his interest in childrens books and he was inspired to write his first book for his son. He has published over 50 books that he has written and illustrated. He has received many honors and awards for his work.
www.teddarnoldbooks.com